en ميکروب شناسي Microbiology تحقيقي Original Paper <strong>Background and objectives:</strong> The incidence of drug-resistant candidiasis has increased dramatically. This study aimed to evaluate antifungal effects of fluconazole alone and in combination with ibuprofen on isolates from patients with mucosal candidiasis.<br> <strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Methods:</strong> <em>Candida</em> <a name="_Hlk532067045">species </a>isolates from 142 patients with suspected mucosal (oral and vaginal) candidiasis were identified by culture on CHROMagar <em>Candida</em> medium and carbohydrate assimilation test using the API 20CAUX kit<a name="_Hlk524286098">.</a> Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of fluconazole alone and in combination with ibuprofen was determined by the broth microdilution method.<br> <strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Results:</strong> Among isolates, 43.7% were identified as <em>Candida</em> species (<em>Candida albicans</em>, <em>Candida glabrata, Candidia parapsilosis</em>, <em>Candida tropicalis</em>, <em>Candida guilliermondii</em> and <em>Candida kefyr</em>). The highest rate of fluconazole resistance was observed among <em>C. albicans</em> (50%) isolates. MIC₉₀ of ibuprofen-fluconazole combination against <em>C. a</em><em>l</em><em>bicans</em> isolates was 32 &mu;g/mL, which was 8-fold less than that of fluconazole alone (MIC₉₀=256 &mu;g/mL) (P<0.01). Moreover, the MIC₉₀ of fluconazole-ibuprofen combination against <em>C. parapsilosis</em> isolates was 4-fold less than that of fluconazole alone.<br> <strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Conclusion:</strong> Our results revealed partial fluconazole resistance among <em>Candida</em> isolates from patients with mucosal candidiasis. However, the resistance rate decreased 2.5 fold following treatment with the ibuprofen-fluconazole combination. Therefore, it is recommended to further investigate the therapeutic potential of this drug combination for treatment of fungal infections, such as candidiasis. Candida, Fluconazole, Ibuprofen, Antifungal effect 25 29 http://mlj.goums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-575-3&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Tahere Shamoushaki t.shamoshaki@gmail.com 100319475328460017951 100319475328460017951 No Department of Biology, Gorgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran Leila Fozouni lili_kia@yahoo.com 100319475328460017952 100319475328460017952 Yes Department of Biology, Gorgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran